


Orbiting Link

by Anonymous



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, Anxiety, Cute, Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, Kid Fic, M/M, Married Life, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:13:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26652748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Rhett expresses his fears as Link’s pregnancy progresses.
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30
Collections: Anonymous





	Orbiting Link

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kesha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kesha/gifts).



> This fic is dedicated to the wonderful @rhettandtwink on tumblr!

“I’m scared,” Rhett whispered, his voice almost lost thanks to the high vaulted ceiling and large open room. A hotel lobby wasn’t the ideal place to have this conversation, but it seemed that it was happening anyway. He hovered over Link to help shield him from view, both of them pressed into a corner near the automatic sliding doors that made up the entrance.

Link grunted in response and massaged the tightening spot near his belly button until the contraction finally eased. When it did, he sighed in relief and took a deep breath. They were only Braxton Hicks, but they had been happening more frequently and growing more intense as he neared the end of his pregnancy. “Don’t be scared. I know it’s a big hotel, but stick with me and you won’t get lost,” he teased. He stuck his tongue out at Rhett, wanting to lighten the dark mood that had settled over him as soon as they had entered the hotel and the contraction had started. But Rhett didn’t even crack a smile.

“That’s not what I meant,” Rhett murmured. He was a big man, but somehow he looked incredibly small and lost. Link reached for his hand and entwined their fingers.

“I know. Do you want to sit down and talk here, or go up to our room?” Link asked, smoothing his thumb over the back of Rhett's hand. He wasn’t exactly comfortable standing for very long anymore. He felt off balance with his ever-expanding baby bump, his lower back hurt, and his ankles and feet were already swollen beyond anything reasonable. They ached even in his most comfortable pair of supportive sneakers. But if Rhett insisted on doing this standing right here, he would put up with the aches and pains for as long as he needed to.

Luckily, Rhett took pity on him. “Our room,” he said, tilting his head toward the bank of elevators. He kept hold of Link’s hand and led the way.

Link studied their reflections in the mirror as they rode up to their floor. He looked exactly the way he felt; tired, swollen all over, and uncomfortable, but content. Rhett’s face was pinched and red, and he looked like he was about to cry. They had gone out to a nice restaurant for dinner, and Link had hoped the romantic outing would turn into a romantic evening once they got back to the hotel, but it seemed like his husband had other plans for the night.

When they made it to their room, Link kicked off his shoes and stripped down to his soft undershirt and boxers. He felt so much better without scratchy clothes to confine his growing body. It seemed like everything he owned was a little bit too small for him now, even the clothes that he had just bought in a size up. It was ridiculous, but he didn’t really mind that much. It just meant that his baby was healthy and growing. Rhett followed suit, stripping down, and then they sat side by side on the end of the oversized bed. Link took Rhett’s hand again, nestling it against his thigh, and spoke softly. “Okay. Now tell me why you’re really scared.”

“Dunno.” Rhett looked away, refusing to meet Link’s eyes. “Don’t you ever worry?”

“I worry a lot, but you’re going to have to be more specific,” Link coaxed.

“About having the baby? Labor and all of that stuff?” Rhett’s shoulders shook. “I don’t know if you can do it. What if it hurts too much? Even when you have the Braxton Hicks, they look like they hurt. It scares me, and those are supposed to be nothing compared to the real thing.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Link breathed, ignoring the slight insult for the moment. He wrapped his arm around Rhett’s back and snuggled close, breathing in the comforting smell of his cologne. “You don’t need to worry about that. I know it’s going to hurt, but it will be a good pain, right? Because we know it’s supposed to happen, and it won’t last forever, and at the end, we’ll get to hold our baby. I don’t think there’s anything more worth hurting for than that.”

“I guess so.” Rhett kissed the top of Link’s head. “I just hope it’s not too bad. I don’t like seeing you in pain. I don’t know if I can stand seeing you like that.”

“Well, if you need to leave the hospital room for a while, I promise I won’t get mad,” Link said. “I know it upsets you when you can’t step in and make everything all better.” Rhett had protected him and looked out for him since they were kids, and it was one of the endless reasons that Link loved him so much, but this was different. Rhett couldn’t protect him from the pain of labor.

Rhett scoffed and pulled Link into a hug. “I’m not going to leave while you’re having the baby. Not even for a second.”

“Oh, hush. If you need a break, take one. You’ve got to take care of yourself too.”

“You won’t be able to take a break, so I won’t either,” Rhett insisted. He sighed deeply. “Sorry. I know it’s dumb to be so worried.”

“It’s not dumb. Not at all,” Link promised. “It’s okay to be scared. It’s not like we’ve ever done this before. It’s new and exciting, but it’s also kind of scary.”

Rhett nodded. The room was quiet for a few moments before he spoke again, “You’ve always wanted to have a baby, huh?”

“Always. I’ve dreamed of having your baby since we were just kids ourselves. You know that.” Link poked Rhett’s side and smiled fondly as old memories flooded into his mind. “Remember that baby doll I had? Who do you think I pretended was the daddy?”

“Me.” Rhett smiled as Link nodded. “I’m still worried though. I don’t want to lose you. I need you here with me, Link. I don’t think I could go back to being half of a whole. I’ve been thinking about that...a lot. Even in my dreams, I keep seeing you scream and then fade away. Anything could go wrong.”

“What’s making you think about things like that?” Link asked. He began to rub Rhett’s back in gentle patterns.

“Don’t you ever think about it?” Rhett answered with a question of his own.

“Hmm, well, it has crossed my mind, but then I step back and look at the facts. I’m in pretty good shape, and I don’t have any health conditions. I have a really good doctor and hospital. The baby is on the big side, but that’s just because you’re a giant and not because something is wrong. Bad things can happen to anyone, but that doesn’t mean they _will_ happen. Besides, we could get into an accident the next time we drive somewhere, or slip and fall the next time we take a shower. But we still drive and take showers, right? We can’t be afraid of everything or we’d have no life, and having a baby is pretty low risk for me, all things considered.”

“Maybe we should start walking places more often,” Rhett suggested. His tone was still worried, but there was something else lighter there now.

Link snorted and elbowed him. “Only if you’re going to carry me. My back kills me from just walking from the bedroom to the bathroom, and you want me to walk everywhere?” He put on an incredulous, teasing tone and rubbed his big belly for emphasis. “Not me! Not now that I’m a beached whale. Have you seen me lately? I’m bigger than a whole planet. Have you ever seen a planet go for a walk? Because let me tell you, it’s not happening. Absolutely not. No way. And I’m not giving up showers either, so don’t even suggest that. I’ve been sweating enough for three people lately. I’ll reek!”

Rhett threw back his head and laughed at that, his shoulders shaking in mirth. Link joined in, both of them laughing and giggling their stress away. When they finally calmed down and regained their breath, Rhett pulled Link back into his arms and rested his head on top of Link’s. “How do you always know just what to say to calm me down?” he asked, in a soft voice.

“Oh, I don’t know. A whole lifetime of experience, I guess.” Link smiled and squeezed Rhett tightly. “Besides, you’re usually the one helping me calm down when I get something stuck in my head. I think it was about time I returned the favor.”

“I love you,” Rhett said, and moved to press a soft kiss to Link’s lips.

“I love you too. Always and forever,” Link said, and leaned up for another kiss. Maybe it wasn’t too late to turn the evening into a romantic night away after all. “Hey, have you ever made love to a planet?” he asked, shyly, and grinned when it made Rhett laugh again.

“No, but there’s a first time for everything,” Rhett answered, and pulled Link into a deeper kiss that eventually led to other things.

————————————————————————————

Just Over Five Years Later:

Link broke into a grin when he peeked into the living room. It seemed that no one had heard him unlock the door and come inside after all. He was tired from his outing with his pregnancy support group, but his fatigue went away as soon as he saw what was going on in the next room.

Rhett and their daughters were sitting at a miniature table in the playroom, passing around a small plastic teapot and speaking in silly accents. A plate of freshly baked cookies sat in the middle of the table, adorned with a few berries.

“Would you like more tea?” five year old Ella asked three year old Ruby, her voice lilted in a terrible impression of a British accent. She held the little yellow teapot up high.

“Yes, please,” Ruby said and held her matching teacup up for a refill. Both of the girls were dressed in the nice dresses Link had bought them for a dinner party they had gone to a few weeks ago. Rhett had on a black shirt with a tie. He looked pretty silly with his tall body contorted onto a tiny chair, his knees unable to fit under the table, but Link had never seen anything more precious.

“May I please have more tea too, Miss Ella?” Rhett asked in a deep, king-like voice. He held his own cup up and thanked Ella graciously when she poured more tea into his cup.

Once all of the cups were full again, the three of them picked them up and held their little fingers out, giggling about how fancy and proper they were as they sipped their tea and nibbled on their cookies, pretending to be princesses.

Link melted at the sight, wishing that he could dig his phone out of his bag for a photo without disturbing them. Rhett was so good with the girls, always playing with them and indulging them in their interests. Apparently they had come up with the idea to have a tea party while he was away.

After watching for a few more minutes, Link finally stepped into the room. Ella and Ruby immediately jumped up and rushed to hug him, but it took Rhett a minute to get up because he had to untangle himself from the tiny chair and table first. “Hey, baby,” he greeted Link, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “How was your group today?”

“Oh, pretty good. They shared some techniques to help reduce back pain, but I’ll tell you all about that later.” He let Rhett guide him over to the couch and settle him down among the cushions. He put his feet up on the footrest. “Oh, and Prisha finally had her baby yesterday, so we did a short video call with her. She had a boy, and they’re both doing great.”

“That’s good. Are you feeling okay?” Rhett sat down beside Link and began rubbing his lower back. “You’re pretty swollen, baby. You have to be careful not to overdo it. Maybe you should skip your group next week. Stay in bed and take it easy. You don’t need to be doing so much now.”

“I’m feeling really good, Rhett. You don’t need to worry,” Link promised, biting the inside of his cheek to keep the annoyance out of his tone. He knew Rhett’s worry was coming from a good place. “Why don’t you get back to your tea party?” Rhett had been a bit of a worrywart during the later stages of his last two pregnancies, but ever since they found out that he was carrying twins this time, his worrying had gone into overdrive. Link appreciated how concerned he was, but sometimes he got tired of the constant nagging. Luckily, it would only last a few more weeks, and then they would both be feeling more like themselves again.

“Play with us!” Ruby demanded, tugging on Rhett’s pant leg.

“Just a second, sweetie. Hey, we were going to go outside and play some basketball when you got home, but it sounds like the tea party is going to last a little bit longer. Do you want to join us?” Rhett asked, looking at Link. “We can pull the table over here so you don’t have to get up.”

Link laughed softly as he heaved himself up from the couch with significant effort. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to do that at all for much longer as he grew even bigger, but he knew that Rhett would be happy to help him up when that finally happened. He always liked it when Link played up how much help he needed anyway, but right now, he needed to be reminded not to worry too much. “Hey, I might be pregnant with twins, but I’m still more flexible than you’ll ever be. Watch this, tall boy.” He waddled over to the little table and sat down as gracefully as he could manage to in his condition, spreading his legs wide enough to make room for his frankly enormous belly to fit between them. He grinned triumphantly as Rhett rolled his eyes and began to struggle to contort his long body back onto his own tiny chair.

“Show off,” Rhett said when he finally made it, but he was smiling, the worry gone for now.

“Oh, you know it.” Link winked at him and then turned his attention to the girls. “Thank you for inviting me to your tea party. May I please have some tea and a peanut butter cookie?” he asked, in his most regal voice, as he reached for his own little yellow teacup.

Today was a good day, and he was going to enjoy it even if he was bigger than a planet once again.


End file.
